1. ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF CUSTOMER SERVICES IN MALAYSIAN HEALTHCARE: A Systematic Review Within Three Types of Hospitals Setting In Klang Valley M.M Nasaruddin, A Nurul’Ain, A Zulfadlil, A Azimatun Noor
The importance of customers has been discussed and highlighted worldwide, and continuously emphasized by many researchers. In a current extremely competitive healthcare industry and advancement in medical care, customers have high expectations of a quality experience for better satisfaction. There are many issues arise faced by the nation in relation to the healthcare services in Malaysia. It is a fact that customer service expectations in healthcare are high, which creates a huge challenge for health care institutions.
The objective of this study is to identify the issues and challenges of customer services within public, private and teaching hospitals in Klang Valley.
A systematic review of issues and challenges in comparing annual year report, documentation of institutional quality services, Malaysia general order and circular, official institutional website and interview session with customer service unit/department for each types of hospital setting in Klang Valley for year 2011.
‘Customer Service’ is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation (Turban et al 2002).
‘Public Hospital’ is identified as a health care institution owned by Ministry of Health (MoH) Malaysia.
‘Teaching Hospital’ is an institutional that affiliated to a medical school and provides the students with teaching and supervised practical experience (Collins English Dictionary 2003).
‘Private Hospital’ is identified as any health centers that are operated and fully managed by the non-government sectors under the registration of Malaysia Medical Council (MMC) and Ministry of Health (MoH) Malaysia.
Issues in Malaysia health care can be divided into two parts which are related to the customer and performance provided by organization:
INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVE
METHODOLOGY
DISCUSSION
Providing high quality health care is a fundamental as it gives information on the provider’s success at meeting client’s charter.
Customer satisfaction has become vital indicator for customer services, it represent status of the organization and gives positive effect to the profitability of the organization.
Ongoing improvement of customer service is critical to the sustainability of any health care provider.
Health care provider must present easy ways to create a positive, productive and customer-oriented environment.
Regular training for staff shall be provided by the organization and reinforcement must be made particularly in relation to staff attitudes and behavior.
Companies that have a strategic approach to customer satisfaction and make technology investment to support specific business and financial objectives are likely to achieve high rates of customer retention, fast growth, and increased profitability (McKinsey & Company 2001).
The issues arise can give tremendous impact to health care services in Klang Valley and will lead to lack of customers’ confidence and loyalty. Customer service continues to be a fundamental requirement for successful in any sized of health care organization. By achieving the national key performance indicator of customer services in Malaysia, it will boost the health status of Malaysian population.
Collins English Dictionary
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McKinsey & Company Rediscovering the customer; Turning customer satisfaction into shareholder value.
Turban, E., King, D., Jae, K.L., Warkentin, M. &H.Michael, C Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Operational Definitions
MAJOR RESULTS
CONCLUSION
REFERENCE
Address for Correspondence
Dr. Azimatun Noor Aizuddin
Department of Community Health UKMMC